Hammer A3-41

[BleedBlue]

Hello All,

First time poster here so excuse me.  I wanted some feedback from people that have used the Hammer A3-41 planer/jointer machine.  I use a small 2 car garage as my workstation and space is critical.  I was looking at the Powermatic 15" planer and 8" jointer but that is a lot of footprint required for separate machines.

Any information you can provide would be great!  Also, does anyone know if Felder does yearly sales (e.g. black friday deals) on their equipment?  Thank you all!

 

[rmhinden]

I have an A3-41, as do others on this group.  I posted my experience with ordering and installing it, including dust collection here:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/ordered-a-hammer-a3-31/

I am very happy with it.  As you noted, it takes up a lot less room than two separate machines. 

Also, there is another FOG, Felder Owners Group at

 https://groups.io/g/felderownersgroup/topics

Bob

 

[blaszcsj]

I have the 31. Great machine. No regrets. Just make sure you adjust your workflow with the understanding that you only have one machine. Change over time is negligible. Just irritating if you forget to mill something mid project and it’s not the setup. But now that I have had it for two yrs. not really an issue.

 

[derekcohen]

Hello All,

First time poster here so excuse me.  I wanted some feedback from people that have used the Hammer A3-41 planer/jointer machine.  I use a small 2 car garage as my workstation and space is critical.  I was looking at the Powermatic 15" planer and 8" jointer but that is a lot of footprint required for separate machines.

Any information you can provide would be great!  Also, does anyone know if Felder does yearly sales (e.g. black friday deals) on their equipment?  Thank you all!

If space is a premium, why not get the A3-31? That is the one I have and a 12" jointer is just fine with my work, which is building medium sized furniture in solid wood.

I have a double garage, and must make space for 1 car at night. These machines are positioned permanently ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[YOGO100]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I have not had many positive experiences with my Hammer A3-31 (smaller model). In the four years that I have owned it, it has had multiple mechanical issues, including some broken castings. The most important issue was that the cutter head pulley key somehow totally sheared off. when contacted, and after considerable debate, Felder basically gave me two choices. First, replace the entire cutter head at cost (at about 40% of a new machine, not including the labor, and with a 4 month wait), or to find someone to weld this key in place (at my own expense). While the technicians at Felder were nice enough, and tried to be helpful over the phone, I would have expected the company to step up a bit more in a situation where the machine clearly failed. I certainly won't buy another machine from Felder in the future, because the company does not seem to stand by its products. As I mentioned, I am probably in the minority, but I figured I would share my experiences given the costs associated with these machines.

 

[Max Fracas]

My experience with my A3-41 has been good.  I’ve had the machine for over 3 years but for various reasons it hasn’t seen much work until recently. 

Only issue I’ve had has been with the friction wheel that drives the feed rollers in planer/thicknesser mode.  Just a few weeks ago I started hearing a thumping noise and found the glue had failed on the wheel’s urethane tire.  The tire also had a chunk out of it—not sure how that happened.  The good news is that a new friction wheel from Felder was under $40 and that it was easy to install. 

 

[BleedBlue]

Thank you everyone for your feedback!  It is definitely a considerable investment and i was told by the local Felder sales man that delivery will not probably happen till end of the year. 

 

[HowardH]

Just as another option, I have the the Jet JJP 12 HH and it's a fantastic machine.  Quiet, plenty of power and considerably less expensive than the A3-31. The HH is very smooth cutting, sanding is minimal afterwards and little snipe.  You can find them on sale a Woodcraft from time to time. 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

I have the A3-41 and really like it. I opted for the Silent Power (spiral) cutter head and it is indeed quiet and leaves a great finish.

Regarding 12” vs 16”, I’ve owned the machine for ~1 year and have already run into several situations where a 12” machine would have been too narrow, so I’m VERY thankful I opted for the 16” model.

The ability to add in feed and out feed tables is REALLY nice, particularly when jointing longer pieces.

Oneida Dust Gorilla Mini with a 10’ 5” hose keeps up with planing 2mm x 41mm just fine.

I ordered the digital gauge on the hand wheel (mm) and wouldn’t be without it, it’s really nice for returning to a previous setting.